Inquest into Fredericton ER waiting-room death begins with jury selection | CBC News

A coroner’s inquest into the death of a patient in the waiting room of the Fredericton hospital’s emergency department got underway Monday with jury selection.

Darrell Mesheau, 78, died on July 12, 2022, at the Dr. Everett Chalmers Regional Hospital.

Deputy chief coroner Emily Caissy and the jury of three women and two men will publicly hear evidence from witnesses to determine the facts surrounding his death.

The jurors, selected from among the 74 people summonsed who appeared, will have the opportunity to make recommendations aimed at preventing deaths under similar circumstances.

In an emailed statement to CBC News last Tuesday, Mesheau’s son said the family expects the inquest will “bring to light” the details surrounding his father’s death.

“The family is well aware of the deplorable state of the healthcare system in New Brunswick, and we hope that the recommendations forthcoming from the inquest will help drive positive change and ensure that no New Brunswicker will face such a tragedy again,” said Ryan Mesheau.

Sparked outrage, prompted changes

The death of Mesheau, a former diplomat, father of two and grandfather of one, sparked outrage across the province and prompted a major shakeup of New Brunswick’s health-care leadership.

During a news conference three days later, Premier Blaine Higgs announced the firing of Horizon Health Network president and CEO John Dornan, replaced Dorothy Shephard as health minister and removed the boards of both Horizon and Vitalité.

According to witness John Staples, Mesheau, whom he described as an elderly man, had been waiting alone in a wheelchair, in visible discomfort, for hours when he appeared to fall asleep. It was only during a routine check of people in the waiting room that a hospital employee realized the man had stopped breathing, Staples told CBC News at the time.

Nurses doing double duty

The licensed practical nurses who were assigned to check on patients in the ER waiting room the night Mesheau died were also assigned to other tasks and “could not commit to regular checks,” documents obtained by CBC News through a right-to-information request revealed.

The nurse-to-patient ratio the day Mesheau died was “alarmingly high and unquestionably … unsafe,” according to local representatives of the New Brunswick Nurses Union.

A quality process review conducted by Horizon found, the “lack of consistent patient monitoring and the inability to meet standards in the emergency department waiting room decreases the likelihood for early recognition in patient health decline,” the documents showed.

The coroner’s inquest was originally scheduled for last May, but was abruptly postponed when new information was brought forward, prompting an investigation by police.

In December, Fredericton police concluded Mesheau’s death did not involve criminality.

The inquest is being held at the Fredericton Inn and is scheduled to continue through Thursday.